Bobby pin with improved grip

ABSTRACT

A bobby pin that includes an upper leg member and a lower leg member, each leg member having a length defined by two ends. The bobby pin includes the upper leg member and the lower leg member being operably connected by a spring member, commonly a bend in the bobby pin, but it could be another spring mechanism. The bobby pin includes at least a portion of the length of at least one of the upper leg member or the lower leg member including a gripper material to improve holding performance. In one embodiment, both the upper and lower leg members may be coated with a gripper material. In another embodiment, at least a portion of the length of the upper leg member or the lower leg member may include a channel defined therein and at least a portion of the channel may be filled with a gripper material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is generally directed to improved hair pins forholding and retaining hair in place.

BACKGROUND

Bobby pins, hair pins, and other similar apparatuses are well knowndevices for holding hair in place. These devices use two prongs or armsthat are arranged in a somewhat parallel orientation, and overlap orcontact each other at one or more locations. When placed in the hair,the two prongs or arms work together to grip and hold the hair in place.These arms or prongs typically are rigid in construction. These devicesmay be used for multiple hairstyles, for placing and holding hair in thedesired position. The traditional bobby pin has been largely unchangedsince the 1920's.

Cosmetic and superficial designs and features have been implemented overtime, such as adding bends, grooves, waves, ridges, or contoured pointsof contact on either the upper or lower member of the bobby pin. Thebends, grooves, waves, ridges, or contoured points of contact assist thebobby pin in staying in place and holding the hair in the desiredposition by creating pinch points. However, the metal and plasticmaterials that are used to construct bobby pins, can be prone toslippage, allowing the bobby pin to move out of place or displaceentirely. Even with the addition of ridges or grooves, these bobby pinsstill tend to move out of place, comprising the hold of the hair.Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved bobby pin, withimproved adherence properties so as to maintain the installed positionand having improved ability for holding the hair in place.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed toward an improved bobby pin thatgenerally includes an upper leg member operably connected to a lower legmember, and wherein at least one of the upper leg member and/or thelower leg member includes a gripper material disposed to engage amaterial being acted upon by the bobby pin. For example, the grippermaterial may be any material having one or more of the followingqualities in the present bobby pin—it will be comfortable, soft,flexible, pliable, UV resistant, resistant to dust/dirt/hair, non-toxic,and resilient. In one embodiment, the gripper material may be a foamresin composed of Ethylene-Vinylacetate (EVA) which is a copolymer ofEthylene (60%-90%) and Vinyl Acetate (10%-40%). Other embodiments mayinclude a gripper material being any polymeric material, including butnot limited to open cell or closed cell polymeric foams, synthetic ornatural rubbers, polyester, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene,neoprene, vinyl, PVC, or any material that provides one or more of theabove listed qualities.

In one embodiment, the bobby pin includes an upper leg member having afirst end and a second end that define a length of the upper leg member.The bobby pin may further include a lower leg member having a first endand a second end defining a length of the lower leg member. Generally,the second end of the upper leg member may be operably connected to thesecond end of the lower leg member at a closed end of the bobby pin.Further, in one embodiment, at least a portion of the length of theupper leg member and/or the lower leg member includes a gripper materialdisposed to engage the object or material being acted upon by the bobbypin.

Both the upper leg member and the lower leg member may be coated with agripper material. In another embodiment, the bobby pin may include achannel defined in at least a portion of the length of one of the upperleg member or the lower leg member. This channel may be filled with thesame gripper material, and the gripper material may be inserted andarranged within the channel to engage the material being acted upon bythe bobby pin, typically hair. In one embodiment, the lower leg memberof the bobby pin has the channel and the lower leg channel may be filledwith the gripper material. Alternatively, the upper leg member mayinclude the channel filled with the gripper material by itself or withthe lower leg member. It may be preferable for both the upper leg memberto have a first channel and the lower leg member to have a secondchannel, wherein both the first and second channels may be filled withthe gripper material. Finally, it may also within the scope of theinvention for the gripper material filling in the channels to have anengagement surface that includes a crown, which may be a rounded and/orraised portion of the gripper material which extends slightly higherthan the channel and may be the first point of engagement between thegripper material and the object or material being acted upon by thebobby pin.

With respect to the shape of the bobby pin, in one embodiment, the upperleg member includes a plurality of ridges or undulations similar tocurrent bobby pin designs. In this embodiment, the lower leg member maybe typically straight. However, because the gripper material improvesthe holding ability of the pin, it may be possible for both the top andthe bottom legs to be straight without losing any performance or holdingcapacity. Alternatively, it may also be within the scope of the presentinvention for both the upper leg member and the lower leg member toinclude ridges or undulations, which could be complimentary, in thatthey nest with each other, or in opposition so that the design creates aplurality of contact points with a plurality of spaces defined adjacentto the contact points.

In a typical embodiment, the bobby pin may be of unitary constructionand the second end of the upper leg member may be operably connected tothe second end of the lower leg member by a bend in the bobby pin. Thebend acts as a spring to hold the legs in a relative position but allowfor the legs to be separated for placement. In other embodiments, thesecond end of the upper leg member may be operably connected to thesecond end of the lower leg member, more generally by any known ordeveloped spring mechanism. In one embodiment, the bobby pin may includean open end located opposite of a location where the upper leg memberand the lower leg member may be operably coupled, with an opening at theopen end defined by the first end of the upper leg member and the firstend of the lower leg.

Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments andthe accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specification, areto be read in conjunction therewith in which like reference numerals areused to indicate like or similar parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of one embodiment of a bobby pinhaving a coating over the entire surface of the bobby pin in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an expanded side view of the bobby pin of FIG. 1 viewed alongthe line 2-2;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the straight leg member of the bobbypin in FIG. 1 with the gripper material applied to the outer surface ofthe straight leg member cut along the line 3-3;

FIG. 4 is a first side perspective view of an exemplary embodiment ofthe bobby pin including an inner channel insert in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a top view of a portion of the inner channel insert of thebobby pin in FIG. 4 viewed along the line 5-5; and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional front view of the inner channel insert ofthe bobby pin in FIG. 4 cut along the line 6-6.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawingfigures, in which like reference numerals refer to like partsthroughout. For purposes of clarity in illustrating the characteristicsof the present invention, proportional relationships of the elementshave not necessarily been maintained in the drawing figures. It will beappreciated that any dimensions included in the drawing figures aresimply provided as examples and dimensions other than those providedtherein are also within the scope of the invention.

The following detailed description of the invention references specificembodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The embodiments areintended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail toenable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Otherembodiments can be utilized, and changes can be made without departingfrom the scope of the present invention. The present invention isdefined by the appended claims and the description is, therefore, not tobe taken in a limiting sense and shall not limit the scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

The present invention generally relates to an improved bobby pin,utilizing a gripping material for improved stability and increasedduration of keeping the bobby pin in place in the hair. The bobby pin ofthe present invention improves the stability and staying ability byincorporating the use of a gripping material coating, which may entirelycover the bobby pin, or may be applied to channels or parts of the bobbypin, depending on the embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention is a bobby pin 10. Bobbypin 10 may utilize a variety of designs using any of the known bobby pindesigns or configurations that are currently available, and constructedfrom any commonly known materials, such as metal, aluminum, plastic, orpolymer material. By way of non-limiting example, bobby pin 10 mayutilize a lower straight leg member 12 as the lower member, with aridged leg member 14 as the upper member. However, it will beappreciated that bobby pin 10 could also utilize ridged, bent, curved,or other design for one or both of the upper and lower members. Evenfurther, it will be appreciated that bobby pin 10 could use the samedesign for the top leg member and the lower leg member, depending on theembodiment of the invention.

As presently designed, and illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, one embodiment ofbobby pin 10 comprises a straight lower leg member 12. Straight legmember 12 may further comprise straight leg member tip 16 near a firstend 34 that is a terminal point for straight leg member 12. Straight legmember 12 may further include straight leg member cover 20 to coverstraight leg member tip 16. It will be appreciated that straight legmember cover 20 could be a rubber cap, plastic cap, or other cap of thegripper material, or other material or design that is sufficientlydesigned to cover straight leg member tip 16 to prevent the first end 34of the lower leg 12 of bobby pin 10 from scratching a user and/orprovide a smoother surface to engage the hair as the bobby pin 10 isinserted. It will be further appreciated that straight leg member cover20 can serve an additional function of providing an additional point ofcontact and friction, providing additional stability and staying payingfor bobby pin 10 while secured to hair. Straight lower leg member 12then transitions into a bend 24 at a second end 36 of the straight lowerleg member 12.

Bobby pin 10 further comprises ridged leg member 14, which functions asa top leg member to bobby pin 10. As illustrated in FIG. 1, ridged legmember 14 comprises a plurality of ridges, bends, or trenches, in agenerally zig-zag configuration, for multiple points of contact with thehair when bobby pin 10 is in place. It will be appreciated that theplurality of ridges in ridged leg member 14 can vary, and that this isnot a limiting feature of bobby pin 10. Bobby pin 10 may utilize anysufficient number of ridges for properly securing bobby pin 10 in place.In alternate embodiments of bobby pin 10, a top leg member may comprisea smooth leg member comprising no ridges. Ridged leg member 14 furthercomprises ridged leg member tip 18 located at a first end 38 of ridgedleg member 14 and that provides a terminal point of ridged leg member14. Ridged leg member 14 also includes a second end 40 proximate bend24. Ridged leg member 14 further includes ridged leg member cover 22 tocover ridged leg member tip 18. Ridged leg member cover 22 could be arubber cap, plastic cap, or other cap of the gripper material, or othermaterial or design that is sufficiently designed to cover ridged legmember tip 18 and/or prevent scratching a user and/or provide a smoothersurface to engage the hair as the bobby pin 10 is inserted. Ridged legmember cover 22 may further serve an additional function of providing anadditional friction point of contact with the hair while bobby pin 10 isin place, and/or may prevent the first end 38 of the upper leg 14 ofbobby pin 10 from scratching a user and/or provide a smoother surface toengage the hair as the bobby pin 10 is inserted.

Straight leg member 12 and ridged leg member 14 may be connectedtogether at a second end 26 through use of a bend 24. Bend 24 may be agenerally U shape, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4. In one embodiment,bend 24 will be a continuation of the one-piece construction of a bobbypin 10 and be made from the same material as the rest of bobby pin 10,such as metal, aluminum, polymer, or other materials, providing theshape of bend 24 that acts as a spring to allow for displacement ofstraight leg member 12 and ridged member 14 away from each other forplacement and removal, but return to and maintain an originalorientation during storage and use. However, in alternate embodiments,bend 24 could alternatively be a mechanical spring or similar apparatusfor allowing for storage and use in a closed or operating position andallowing displacement of straight leg member 12 and ridged leg member 14in an open position for inserting and then clamping bobby pin 10. Itwill be appreciated the bend 24 can store potential energy for holdingbobby pin 10 in place. At the opposite end from second end 26, bobby pin10 may further comprise an opening 28, providing an opening for placingbobby pin 10 in the hair for placement.

Bobby pin 10 further utilizes the use of gripper material 30 to assistin keeping bobby pin 10 in place. The gripper material may be anymaterial having one or more of the following qualities in the presentbobby pin—it will be comfortable, soft, flexible, pliable, UV resistant,resistant to dust/dirt/hair, non-toxic, and resilient. In oneembodiment, the gripper material may be a foam resin composed ofEthylene-Vinylacetate (EVA) which is a copolymer of Ethylene (60%-90%)and Vinyl Acetate (10%-40%). Other embodiments may include a grippermaterial being any polymeric material, including but not limited to opencell or closed cell polymeric foams, synthetic or natural rubbers,polyester, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, neoprene, vinyl,PVC, or any material that provides one or more of the above listedqualities. The gripper material could be textured to improve engagementwith hair. Such textures may include ribs, raised nubs, waffle patternsand such textures may be set up to be complementary with texturedsurface to nest with or align with the opposing leg members

In one embodiment of bobby pin 10, gripper material 30 may be applieddirectly to the surface of bobby pin 10 and can substantially orcompletely coat the entire surface of bobby pin 10, as illustrated inFIGS. 1-3. In this embodiment, gripper material 30 may completelysurround bobby pin 10 to provide an encapsulating coating 32. Coating 32may be applied to bobby pin 10 during or after construction of bobby pin10. Gripper material 30 may be adhered to bobby pin 10 through the useof adhesives, but it will be appreciated that gripper material 30 maycomprise an inherent adhesive nature, such that when applied to bobbypin 10, no other adhesive material is needed and gripper material 30 mayadhere to bobby pin 10.

For example, FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-section of straight leg member12, with coating 32 completely surrounding straight leg member 12. Itwill be appreciated that in this embodiment, with gripper material 30completely surrounding bobby pin 10 creating coating 32 and that thehair will only come in contact with coating 32.

It will be appreciated that in alternate embodiments, gripper material30 may be partially applied to bobby pin 10. In an embodiment of bobbypin 10 with a partial coating, it will be appreciated that grippermaterial 30 may be applied to one or more portions of bobby pin 10. Assuch, when placed in hair, the hair will come in contact with bothgripper material 30 and the material that constructs bobby pin 10. Byway of non-limiting example, if bobby pin 10 is constructed fromaluminum, and there is only partial covering of gripper material 30,hair will be in contact with both the aluminum and gripper material 30.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4-6, an alternate embodiment of bobby pin 10 maycomprise an inner channel 204 which has at least a portion of thechannel including the gripper material 30. In this alternate embodiment,inner channel 204 can be placed in an alternate straight leg member 202.Alternate straight leg member 202 may be partially hollowed asillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, or otherwise include an opening such thatgripper material 30 may be applied in inner channel 204. While FIGS. 4-6illustrate alternate straight leg member 202 with inner channel 204, itwill be appreciated that the top leg member 206 may also include innerchannel 204 along a portion of its length. It will be furtherappreciated that in an exemplary embodiment, an inner channel 204 may befound in both the upper leg member 206 and the lower leg member 202.

Inner channel 204 may be located on the interior surface of alternatestraight leg member 202, such that when bobby pin 10 is placed in hair,gripper material 30 in inner channel 204 is in contact with the hair. Asshown in FIG. 6, a crown 42 of gripper material may be present andraised above the channel 204 so as to ensure the gripper material 30 isfirst to engage the hair when in operation. As such, when placed inhair, the hair will be in contact with the gripper material 30 and, insome embodiments, the surface of bobby pin 10. As described in theprevious embodiment, gripper material 30 may be self-adhering such thatno additional adhesive is needed to secure gripper material 30 withininner channel 204, or alternately, may require an adhesive to placegripper material 30 in inner channel 204.

In all embodiments of bobby pin 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 1-6, grippermaterial is used to keep bobby pin 10 in place and prevent slippage orotherwise misplacement of bobby pin 10 while in the hair. Theconsistency of gripper material 30 increases friction and keeps bobbypin 10 in place. In addition, the nature of gripper material 30 may alsoprovide an engagement surface and/or a texture such that hair, dirt, anddebris will not adhere to it. In some embodiments, the gripper materialmay be anti-microbial. As such, bobby pin 10 may be used for longerperiods of time and stay in place for longer periods of time withoutcontinuous or frequent adjusting or replacement. Further, grippermaterial 30 improves the stability of bobby pin 10 itself, such thatbobby pin 10 may be used multiple times without losing effectiveness. Itwill be appreciated that these goals can be achieved through allembodiments as discussed hereto.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forthtogether with other advantages which are inherent to the structure andmethod. It will be understood that certain features and sub combinationsare of utility and may be employed without reference to other featuresand sub combinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope ofthe claims. Since many possible embodiments of the invention may be madewithout departing from the scope thereof, it is also to be understoodthat all matters herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawingsare to be interpreted as illustrative and not limiting.

The constructions described above and illustrated in the drawings arepresented by way of example only and are not intended to limit theconcepts and principles of the present invention. Thus, there has beenshown and described several embodiments of a novel invention. As isevident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the presentinvention are not limited by the particular details of the examplesillustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that othermodifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur tothose skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including”, andsimilar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in thesense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Manychanges, modifications, variations and other uses and applications ofthe present construction will, however, become apparent to those skilledin the art after considering the specification and the accompanyingdrawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses andapplications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of theinvention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limitedonly by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bobby pin comprising: an upper leg memberhaving a first end and a second end, the first end and the second end ofthe upper leg member defining a length of the upper leg member; a lowerleg member having a first end and a second end, the first end and thesecond end of the lower leg member defining a length of the lower legmember; wherein the second end of said upper leg member is operablyconnected to the second end of said lower leg member at a closed end;and wherein at least a portion of the length of at least one of theupper leg member or the lower leg member includes a gripper materialdisposed to engage a material being acted upon by said bobby pin.
 2. Thebobby pin of claim 1, wherein the upper leg member and the lower legmember are coated with the gripper material to form an encapsulatingcoating.
 3. The bobby pin of claim 1, wherein said upper leg memberincludes a plurality of ridges.
 4. The bobby pin of claim 1, whereinsaid lower leg member is straight.
 5. The bobby pin of claim 1, whereinthe bobby pin is of unitary construction and the second end of saidupper leg member is operably connected to the second end of said lowerleg member by a bend in the bobby pin.
 6. The bobby pin of claim 1,wherein the second end of said upper leg member is operably connected tothe second end of said lower leg member by a spring.
 7. The bobby pin ofclaim 1 further comprising an open end located opposite of a locationwhere the upper leg member and the lower leg member are operablycoupled, the first end of the upper leg member and the first end of thelower leg member are disposed to define an opening therebetween at theopen end.
 8. The bobby pin of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of thelength of at least one of the upper leg member or the lower leg memberhas a channel defined therein and wherein at least a portion of saidchannel is filled with the gripper material, the gripper material beingdisposed to engage a material being acted upon by said bobby pin.
 9. Thebobby pin of claim 8, wherein said lower leg member has the channeldefined along at least a portion of the length thereof.
 10. The bobbypin of claim 8, wherein said upper leg member has a first channeldefined along at least a portion of the length thereof and wherein atleast a portion of the first channel of the upper leg member is filledwith the gripper material.
 11. The bobby pin of claim 10, wherein saidlower leg member includes a second channel defined along at least aportion of the length thereof and wherein a least a portion of saidsecond channel is filled with the gripper material.
 12. The bobby pin ofclaim 8, wherein an engagement surface of the gripper material disposedwithin the channel includes a crown.